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Essay On Minimum Legal Drinking Age

1257 Words6 Pages

Minimum Legal Drinking Age in US too high?
In the US, the Minimum Legal Drinking Age twenty-one has been a highly debated matter for years, because of various contributing factors. Whereas several individual states claim that the beginning of adulthood, at eighteen, is an appropriate age for alcohol consumption, one must also take in account that underage drinking increases the fatality rate of alcohol-related accidents and criminal behavior, but also affects the brain of a developing adolescent making the group more likely to become alcoholists.
The establishment of the US Minimum Drinking Age (MLDA) dates back to the year 1984 where President Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act on July 17 firstly unifying and raising the drinking age to 21 in all 50 states. Its goal is it to effectively combat drunken driving. According to the law any state that would lower the MLDA to eighteen will face a 10% shortcut of federal funding. However since …show more content…

Health awareness campaigns for example are a fantastic way to get informed. While alcohol education programs that advocate abstinence have been proven ineffective, interactive education programs have had greater success in changing one’s drinking habit as can be found in a study from New Zealand. Another aspect are the laws. The US needs stronger regulations for ID checks to prevent minors to enter clubs where drinks are served.
To conclude, alcohol usage before the age of 21 has a variety of negative effects on adolescents, since their body handles it differently leading to a destructive behavior and a higher risk of accidents with fatalities. It is simply irresponsible. Furthermore it lowers one’s academic performance which is of utmost importance for an adolescent. Taking everything from above into account the United States of America should not lower the current Minimum Legal Drinking Age to

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The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Summary

722 Words | 3 Pages

SUMMARY: In the article, “ The Minimum Legal Drinking Age” written by Traci L Toomey, Carolyn Rosenfeld, and Alexander C. Wagenaar in Alcohol Health & Research World, the reasoning behind the why the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) is 21 is addressed. Till this day similar claims that were used to lower the MLDA many years ago are being applied. Regardless of the continuing debate about the MLDA studies show the effectiveness of a higher MLDA in averting alcohol related deaths and injuries within the youth. The lowering of the MLDA resulted in rates of injuries and deaths increasing.

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The Pros And Cons Of Drinking Age Laws

1610 Words | 7 Pages

Since 1984, high school drinking has declined substantially due to the law and penalties (Lessing 3). This is another example of how the 21 drinking law is effective and has been effective for many years. If a state or many states lowered their minimum drinking age to 18, then this would decrease highway funding from congress (Belford 2). Lowering the drinking age law would only put the states’ interests first instead of the thousands of lives that could be negatively affected if the law was changed. Apart from the harmful effects that alcohol can have on the maturing brain of young adults, health risks associated with alcohol are also a

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Essay On Lowering The Legal Drinking Age

1304 Words | 6 Pages

Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) laws specify the age of when a person can buy or publicly drink alcohol legally. In 1984, the minimum legal drinking age was raised to twenty-one. Many college students attend parties where alcohol is present. They should be allowed to consume the alcoholic beverages with their classmates without having to worry about getting in trouble. Eighteen year olds are adults and should be able to make their own decision on whether or not they want to drink.

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Should Drinking Age Be Lowered To 18 Essay

1067 Words | 5 Pages

The laws, studies show, are associated with lower rates of drunk-driving crashes among young people. And it seems they also curb other hazards of heavy drinking-including suicide, dating violence and unprotected sex” (Age 21 drinking laws saves lives, study confirms, 2014, 121). “According to William DeJong, Ph.D., the evidence is clear that there would be consequences if we lowered the legal drinking age” (Age 21 drinking laws saves lives, study confirms, 2014, 121). This research shows that the law of twenty one has had a positive effect and can save many lives on the road, and can protect adolescents from other risk that underage drinking hold.

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Minimum Legal Lowering Age

888 Words | 4 Pages

This is true, but if the minimum legal drinking age is lowered to 18 years old and drinking is only allowed under parental supervision the drinking will be more responsible and will not damage the adolescent brain because the drinking is not severe. Preliminary studies suggest that rats exposed to high levels of alcohol during adolescence may be more sensitive to alcohol-induced memory impairments later in life (White et al., 2000).Although the causes of these long-lasting changes are unclear, they may in some cases involve alcohol-induced injury to the nervous system. In rats, exposure to high amounts of alcohol produces more extensive brain damage in adolescents than adults (Crews et al., 2000). To summarize, supporters of a higher minimum legal drinking age believe that alcohol has adverse affects on the adolescent brain. Although some may believe that a higher legal drinking age is the solution to all of our underage drinking problems, it most definitely is not, the MLDA should be 18 and between 18 and 21 consumption of alcohol is only legal under parental supervision, this is because teens will become more responsible drinkers, it will decrease underage drinking, and the legal age of adulthood is

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Should The Drinking Age Be Lowered To 18

1022 Words | 5 Pages

The topic of the American drinking age has been a controversy since president Ronald Reagan passed the Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984. The Minimum Drinking Age Act requires people to be 21 years old to legally purchase alcohol. The act was passed in order to end blood borders with states and lower the high drinking and driving fatality rates between the 18-20 year old age groups. Those who are against the current drinking age argue that it is too high and should be lowered to 18 because the United States has one of the highest minimum drinking ages in the world. I am for the current drinking age because it effects high school dropout rates, alcohol effects the development of an adolescent’s brain, and if lowered, there will be an increase

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Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age

595 Words | 3 Pages

To continue, a law that is working for us in this country shouldn’t be changed. Drinking should stay a higher age since the MLDA 21 has reduced alcohol consumption by younger drinkers in the U.S. as well as younger kids in general don’t have as easy access to alcohol with the drinking age higher (Procon). Finally, alcohol consumption can cause serious health problems on kids of all ages, who drink it. If there is a kid who drinks alcohol before the body is fully developed, it can cause serious damage to many parts of the body, and is in general not a very healthy choice for someone's health in general (NYLN). It’s simple to say that with these facts, lowering the drinking age is a dangerous choice.

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Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age

1336 Words | 6 Pages

Drinking age - Lower it? The minimum legal drinking age(MLDA) has been perhaps the single most studied alcohol-control policy. Since 1984, the National minimum legal drinking age in the United States has been 21 years. However, Alex was only 18 years old the night he died in a fatal car crash.

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The Importance Of Lowering The Drinking Age

825 Words | 4 Pages

The drinking age in America is currently set to the age of twenty-one, but should it really be? Day-after-day people abuse this law and partake in underage drinking; however, these people who abuse the law are considered adults. Eighteen, nineteen, and twenty-year-old citizens are given the responsibilities of being an adult, should they not also be given the rewards of being an adult? That is why the drinking ages should be lowered from the age of twenty-one to the age of eighteen.

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Persuasive Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age To 18

1834 Words | 8 Pages

It can cause depression and he or she can develop criminal behavior which can lead to death. It has been shown that when the drinking age is lowered teens increase drinking. When Arizona lowered their age to nineteen, teenage drinking increased by thirty-five percent. Car accidents have been known to come from alcohol and research has proven that with the age being twenty-one, suicides, DUIS, and crime rate have decreased

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Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age

751 Words | 4 Pages

31% of road accident deaths in America are due to alcohol, whereas in Germany, with a legal drinking age of 16, 9% of road accident deaths are due to alcohol (McCarthy). Could a lower minimum drinking age be beneficial for the US? After prohibition was repealed in 1933, states were allowed to set their own minimum legal drinking age. Some states set theirs at 21 and others 18 to 20. A few decades later, the government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984 which allowed the government to reduce highway funding to states that chose to keep their MLDA below 21.

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Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age

786 Words | 4 Pages

Lowering the drinking age in the United States has been an ongoing debate since the National Minimum Drinking Age law passed in 1984, requiring someone to be 21 years of age to drink or purchase alcohol. The bill was thought of by Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) and was eventually set into a law by President Ronald Reagan. The main stand point of this law is to lower Drinking and Driving accidents, but the law and people for the law do not see other effects of one of the highest minimum drinking ages in the world. Lowering the minimum drinking age can offset binge drinking, alcoholism, and so much more.

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Keeping The Drinking Age Essay

943 Words | 4 Pages

In these past few years more and more people are leaning towards lowering the drinking age, yet there are still many that disagree and want the age of twenty one to remain the legal age to consume alcohol. In 1984 the United States Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act that changed the drinking age from eighteen to twenty one. Many of the states did not agree with this act and planned on keeping their legal drinking age at 18, until congress passed the Federal Aid Highway act, which states that if the drinking age in that state was under twenty one, they would lose almost 10 percent of their funding for highway public transportation. Throughout the United States thousands of citizens consume alcohol. Even if the legal drinking age is 21, minors will still consume it illegally.

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Essay On Lowering The Drinking Age

1070 Words | 5 Pages

Lowering the drinking age: risky or safe? When teenagers turn 18, they are told that they are adults and are sent into the world. They go to college, get a job, marry or join the military. They do grown-up things like vote, pay taxes and become parents, but they can 't go to the bar for a beer.

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Lowering The Drinking Age Essay

903 Words | 4 Pages

In fact, the law may increase the amount of eighteen to twenty year olds who do drink. It has been shown that, especially in college-age students, there is a tendency to not do what they are told, on the contrary, they will do the exact opposite. The problem with the drinking age being twenty-one is that some students drink purely out of defiance). The number of fatalities is down in all age groups, not just teenagers, and cars driven now are much safer than the cars that were being driven in the early 1980’s, and teenagers are much safer drivers, which can be attributed to the decreased amount of fatalities. Also, in other countries that have lower drinking ages, the number of fatalities has

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